NIH Earmarks $4M to Support Assay Development; 40 Projects Would Likely Benefit

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (GenomeWeb News) - The National Institutes of Health has earmarked $4 million for labs willing to develop and adapt biological assays for automated high-throughput molecular screening, the agency said in a new RFA.

According to the NIH, these projects, which are pat of the NIH Roadmap initiative, are expected to advance the discovery of new molecular probes for investigating biological function.

The NIH said that the $4 million will be used to fund about 40 one-year projects. Organizations eligible to apply for grant money include for-profit or non-profit, public or private, and domestic or foreign institutions, as well as governmental units and agencies.

Examples of the types of assays the NIH is looking to be developed under the RFA include, but are not limited to, cell-based assays of activity or integration involving proteins; assays of cellular or molecular phenotypes; assays involving mutant proteins associated with disease; and assays using model organisms such as yeast.

Letters of intent are due by Jan. 31, 2005, and applications are due by Feb. 15, 2005. The first awards are expected to start in September 2005. Further information is available here.